Is there any chance we will get a dragon mage class?

[R3st8]

I know we have the druid, sorcerer, and dragon instinct barbarian, as well as spells like the dragon form spell. However, none of these really feels like a dragon mage; they can't cast spells while in dragon form, and the duration of one minute is too short. If we were to get a shapeshifter class, which seems to be the consensus, it would be great to have a class archetype focused entirely on fully emulating a true dragon with spell casting and no duration limits.

[Castilliano]

I would think never, at least not in any way that combined both martial & caster aspects at full power. The reason Battle Forms can't cast spells is a matter of balance more than physiological verisimilitude. So what would you be willing to give up as payment for this to fit in a PC build's budget? Not much left if one can assume a competitive dragon form while full casting w/ a breath weapon on top. And you can already take the form alone (w/ BW) or be the full "dragon-themed" caster alone. The Druid's ability to swap between martial/caster makes it perhaps the best class for combat versatility, and I don't see the power curve shifting so much.

About all one might expect (and I do expect it w/ a shapeshifter class or dragon-themed shifter archetype/subclass) is a longer duration as dragon (much like Wild Shape allows). But note that even w/ Wild Shape one has to cast a few levels below max to truly extend the duration to always be in form. (Heck, even monster dragons have to give up some martial abilities in order to pick up spellcasting.)

So yeah, given all that, nope, not gonna happen.

BUT, with all Ancestries now having access to what were the Kobold's dragon feats through the Dragonblood Versatile Heritage you could get somewhat closer than before, albeit humanoid.

[Kalaam]

At best I'd see it as a Mythic Destiny, where you can get more broken stuff.

But otherwise a dragonblood sorcerer is the closest you'll get.

[R3st8]

Kalaam wrote:

At best I'd see it as a Mythic Destiny, where you can get more broken stuff.

But otherwise a dragonblood sorcerer is the closest you'll get.

I wasn't imagining something this powerful, but rather something more along the lines of a level 20 player emulating an adult dragon—perhaps balanced a bit more so that it’s neither too strong nor too weak.

The skeleton of the class would provide progression and proficiency, with basic features similar to those of a summoner. The transformation would start off short and gradually increase until it becomes available at will at level 20.

You would receive the bare minimum of features, but to use them to their fullest potential, you would need to spend feats to upgrade them.

For instance:
Basic: Fire Resistance > More Fire Resistance > Immunity
Basic: Basic Spells > Expert Spells > Master Spells
Basic: Temporary Fly > Fly > Dragon Speed Fly

It would also be possible to use focus points to balance aspects like the breath weapon and flight so that they don't become overpowered.

Essentially, if you want to ignore spellcasting and focus fully on natural attacks and stats, it would be possible without being overpowered. This way, players can choose where to compromise and which aspects of a dragon they want to emphasize.

[keftiu]

Battlezoo: Dragons + being a Magus is about as close as you'll get.

[Perpdepog]

keftiu wrote:

Battlezoo: Dragons + being a Magus is about as close as you'll get.

Conversely, there is an archetype dragons can take that is literally called Dragon Mage, IIRC, that you could mix in with your class of choice. Might be Draconic Mage, now I think of it.

[PossibleCabbage]

I genuinely would not expect Paizo to do a class based on Dragons. Dragons are important on Golarion because they're big, scary, and intelligent monsters but that's about as far as it goes, you get subclasses based on them because they're powerful just like anything else similarly powerful. "Everything depends on Dragons" is the other folks.

So it would have to be a 3rd party class.

[Felinzi]

Kobold Flames Oracle.

Dragon and mage.

*nods decicively*

[R3st8]

Puts on the Infinity Gauntlet. Fine, I'll do it myself --> to the homebrew section.